


Blindsided

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Blind Date, F/M, Modern AU, No Magic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 13:06:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8329036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: prompt: “your friend set you up on a blind date and i happened to be eating alone so you thought you were meeting me and you were cute so i went along with it but you just got a text from said friend that theyre sorry your date stood you up and now i have some explaining to do” rumbelle au





	

The waiter had just poured Adam Gold’s glass of wine when the pretty brunette librarian was sitting in the chair opposite him.

“Hi,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear as she settled in, “I must admit, I didn’t expect to see you, Mr. Gold.”

“Ms. French,” he returned, his eyebrows scrunched as she looked at his menu. He pushed it her way. He always got the same thing anyway, but he still wasn’t sure why Belle French seemed to think they were meeting for dinner.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice bright. “Sorry I’m late, you must’ve thought I was standing you up.”

It hit him suddenly. She thought they were on a blind date. Which was ridiculous, because he hadn’t dated anyone in years, and he didn’t have a friend to set him up on a blind date. But regardless, he should tell her she’d been mixed up and certainly some poor man was sitting alone in the one nice Italian restaurant in Storybrooke.

It seemed his throat forgot how speech worked. He opened his mouth to tell her her mistake, but stuttered a bit instead. Adam reached for his water and looked over at Belle. She was biting her lip as she read the menu, seeming intent.

The waiter came by, a smirk on his face when he noticed Belle. “You didn’t tell me-”

Adam shook his head. Belle didn’t know her mistake. The waiter caught his hint, asking her what she wanted to drink, and they both ordered.

“So,” Belle said, smiling at him. She had a lovely smile. “How do you know Ruby?”

Ruby Lucas must’ve been the one setting Belle up on this blind date.

“Restaurant,” he said stupidly. _Restaurant?!_

Belle laughed. “I guess that’s how I know her, too. I always grab breakfast there, and being new to town, she took pity on me, I guess.”

“That so?”

“Yeah. I left a… pretty bad relationship behind in my old town, and I was looking for a fresh start. Figured I’d just go with a blind date to start off with,” Belle said, shrugging. “I wasn’t sure if you were even in the dating pool. Not that I wanted to date you. But, I wouldn’t not date you if you wanted to date me. Oh my god. I’ll stop talking.”

She was babbling, but it was cute. “It’s okay,” he said simply. _Could he not say more that two words to her?_

Belle blushed, smoothly her skirt as she looked around the restaurant. “I’ve never been here before.”

“It’s Storybrooke’s one and only fancy dining establishment,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

She nodded. “Seems classy.”

“Kind of stuffy,” he admitted.

The waiter appeared then, and Adam was thankful. If they were both eating, they didn’t have to talk. He exhaled before digging into the chicken parmesan. His encounters with Belle French before tonight were limited. He’d been into the library a few times since her takeover as the main librarian. Belle had always been witty, quick to think of exactly the books he’d like to read. She was also very beautiful and out of his league. He’d be lying if he tried to say she’d never shown up in the back of his mind as someone he’d like to get to know, but he knew it would’ve been stupid to try and start anything. But now she was right in front of him.

After both of their meals had gone and dessert menus had been brought out and they’d managed enough conversation for things not to feel awkward, Belle leaned forward conspiratorially.

“I have one big question for you, Mr. Gold,” she said, narrowing her eyes. It was possible her glass of wine was getting to her.

“What’s that, Ms. French?”

“Okay, first, just call me Belle.”

He nodded.

“What’s your first name?” she asked gently. “Everyone just calls you Gold.”

Adam shrugged slightly. “It’s just been Gold for a while. But it’s Adam.”

“Adam,” Belle said, leaning back in her chair. “I like it. It suits you.”

“Well, thank you very much.”

She smiled, and then asked him about the last book he’d checked out from the library. It had been about jewels, because he’d just acquired a few pieces of jewelry for the shop. The conversation moved onto Belle’s impressions of Storybrooke, to Adam’s love for antiques, to a shared affection for classic novels. They talked so long, so comfortably, like old friends. He felt like his initial nerves had completely disappeared while on this date he had no idea he was going on. Before he knew it, they were the only couple in the restaurant, the lights almost completely gone, the waiters bussing the tables around them.

“It’s getting late,” he said, and Belle reached for her phone from her purse.

“It is,” she said. “We should get going before they kick us out.”

“Ruby called me like a trillion times,” she mumbled as they walked out of the restaurant. They stopped just outside the entrance, and Belle held her phone to her ear, presumably listening to one of the trillion messages.

She was staring at Adam strangely as she put her phone back in her purse. “Ruby was calling to apologize that _Will_ didn’t make it tonight.”

“Belle, I can explain,” he said quickly. “You just sat down, and I didn’t know what to say, so I just let you talk to me.”

“Oh my god,” Belle said, looking distressed. “So you just let me think you were my blind date?”

Adam fumbled for words. “I didn’t mind the company.”

Belle choked out a laugh. “You were the only person eating alone, and I just assumed, and I’d told Ruby I thought you were handsome so I thought she…. And I’m rambling again, Mr. Gold.” Belle sighed defeatedly. “I’m sorry, Adam, for everything tonight.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I wasn’t who you were looking for,” he said. “It was the best blind date I’ve ever been on.”

Belle rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you say that to all the strange girls who invite themselves to dinner with you.”

He shrugged. “You’re right.”

Belle smiled. “Well, I guess, thanks for a good night. Even if it wasn’t what you had planned.”

They were both silent for a moment, unsure how to continue. “Can I walk you home?” he asked, unsure if his bravery was from her earlier admission that she liked him or from adrenaline.

She seemed surprised but agreed. “I’d like that a lot,” she said, taking his hand in hers shyly. And so they began to walk, and Adam hoped this wasn’t the last night they’d spend in each other’s company.


End file.
